Tigers land on ESPN's players to watch in 2023

Will Shipley is seen as one of the players to watch nationally in 2023 by ESPN.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Thursday, January 26 2023

The long offseason has some months to go, but an ESPN panel debated some of the players to watch out for in the 2023 season and Clemson had a few mentions.

Among non-QBs to look out for, ESPN's Chris Low targeted Clemson all-purpose standout Will Shipley.

"Dabo Swinney brought in Garrett Riley to jump-start Clemson's offense, and one of the more interesting subplots to watch will be how Riley utilizes Will Shipley," Low said. "One of the country's most versatile running backs, the 5-11, 205-pound Shipley rushed for 1,182 yards and 15 touchdowns last season and also caught 38 passes for 242 yards. He's one of only four ACC players since 2000 to have rushed for 11 or more touchdowns in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. In other words, good things happen when Shipley touches the ball, and look for Riley to use him in a number of different ways next season."

ESPN longtime ACC writer Andrea Adelson has Barrett Carter among the defensive players to watch from the league, as well as Florida State defensive end Jared Verse and Boston College linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku.

Carter earned fourth-team All-America honors from Phil Steele and first-team All-ACC from Steele and Pro Football Focus last season. He posted 77 tackles (10.5 for loss) with 5.5 sacks, eight pass breakups, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in a unit-high 832 snaps over 13 games (all starts)

Staying on defense, a recent late-riser in the recruiting rankings is tagged among the potential freshman phenoms.

"Peter Woods is going to be dominant up front for Clemson. He is exactly what you picture when you think of Clemson linemen. He's powerful, has speed and is ahead of most prospects his age," said ESPN's Tom VanHaaren.

Woods was recently bumped to the No. 4 overall player and the top defender in the 2023 class by ESPN. He also made a leap in the Rivals.com ratings to secure a spot among the 247Sports Composite 5-stars.

He led Thompson (Ala.) to four straight 7A State Championships and finished his high school career with 260 tackles, 72 tackles for loss and 29.5 sacks.

Woods was named first-team All-America and the Alabama player of the year by MaxPreps and earned MVP honors in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game.